PDEs in shells; Example: current conduction in a steel tank

Introduction In many applications it is desirable to calculate phenomena in thin structures, without actually modeling the thickness of the structure. High geometrical aspect ratios can cause serious mesh problems and sometimes geometry analysis problems. If we know that the direction of a process is only in the tangential direction of a thin shell, we can use COMSOL Multiphysics’ tangential derivative variables to define an equation on a curved shell or curved 2D edge. Extremely small model compared with full 3D.

Current conduction in a tank 0 V 400 V Tank with electrically live pipe fittings.

Domain Equation Where d is the wall thickness (m) and s is the electrical conductivity (W-1 m-1)

Results Potential distribution

Results Current density field

Results Current density distribution